Bulletin 2-25-20

1. 4
Vol. 45 February 25, 2020 Number 8
Cooperating With or Contentious Toward
By Barry Kennedy
Charles Osgood told the story of two ladies who lived in a convalescent center.
Each had suffered an incapacitating stroke. Margaret's stroke left her left side restricted,
while Ruth's stroke damaged her right side. Both of these ladies were accomplished pianists
but had given up hope of ever playing again. The director of the center sat them down at a
piano and encouraged them to play solo pieces together. They did, and a beautiful friendship
developed. What a picture of the church's need to work together! What one member cannot
do alone, perhaps two or more could do together in harmony. (Don Higginbotham)
God has always required that His people be united (1 Corinthians 1:10ff; 12:12ff).
God knows that life has its difficulties and we all will have our faith tried from time to time.
The Hebrew writer made clear the understanding our Lord has concerning life’s difficulties.
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). James
emphasized the certainty of our trials. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into
various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2, 3
NKJV). Yes, we will find ourselves facing hard times. How will we endure and find joy in
those hardships? Unity and cooperation one with another will help tremendously in this
endeavor? Amos wrote, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). We
must strive to be on the same page doctrinally and work to develop an attitude of
cooperation.
The early church sets forth a good example for cooperation. God’s overall plan is
that all men be saved (Luke 14:23; John 3:15-17; 1 Timothy 2:4; Titus 2:11; 2 Peter 3:9).
The saved are those whom God adds to His church. “Praising God and having favor with all
the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47).
Are we to assume that the Lord’s church in the first century grew in such an explosive
manner (Acts 2:41; 4:4) without Christians cooperating one with another? In fact, due to the
great distress the early church experienced, they often sold their possessions and distributed
them to one another (Acts 2:45; 4:34-37; 11:29). Of course, the first century Christians did
not only cooperate with their physical possessions. They took to heart God’s message to go
into all the world with the gospel (Matthew 28:19, 20; Romans 1:16). Peter was given three
visions from God emphasizing the need Gentiles have for the gospel (Acts 10:9-48).
Cornelius, an Italian soldier, was a good man who did good things, but he was lost in sin. If
not, why would Peter command him to be baptized (Acts 10:48). Scriptural baptism, is of
course, for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:15, 16). The Jews of Peter’s day would
not be so eager to show any concern for the Gentiles of the world. Men like Peter show us
how that we are to be willing to submit our own thoughts, desires, and cooperation to the
Lord and His will. Cooperation is not always going to be easy. In fact, Paul said, “If it be
possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). Cooperation
--article continued page 3--
ELDERS
Mike Childers..............397-6453
Dennis Hallmark .........255-5557
Mark Hitt.....................322-0917
Bobby Lindley.............260-9193
DEACONS
Wade Bryan.................419-5552
William Harris.............416-8149
Ricky Lindsey .............255-8136
Jeff Mansel..................871-0357
Jimmy Spearman.........840-8957
Michael Wilson ...........891-0891
MINISTERS
Barry Kennedy ... (931)787-7108
Alex Blackwelder (731)879-9196
SECRETARY
Renee Childers
Office...........................842-6116
Fax...............................842-7091
E-MAIL
eastmaincoc38804@gmail.com
WEB PAGE
eastmaincoc.com
SUNDAY SERVICES
Worship....................... 9:00 a.m.
Bible Classes............. 10:15 a.m.
Worship..................... 11:15 a.m.
Singing or Devotional
Last Sunday of the Month
MID-WEEK
SERVICES
Wednesday Classes .....7:00 p.m.
EAST MAIN CHURCH OF CHRIST
1606 East Main Street
P. O. Box 1761
Tupelo, Mississippi 38802
“Thou shalt observe to do all that they inform thee”
(Deut. 17:10)

2. --article continued from page 1—
without a shadow of a doubt Paul’s great love for
his fellow Jews. Moses also displayed this same
level of love for the children of Israel. “And Moses
returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people
have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods
of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and
if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which
thou hast written” (Exodus 32:31, 32). Imagine
what the church would be like today if more
Christians had this level of brotherly love!
How many brothers do we have? That is the
question at hand. Many of you may have one, two,
three, or even more physical brothers, while others
may have none. If you are a Christian, you have
brothers all over this world. Imagine, no matter
where you go you can find a “family” member as
long as there is a member of the Lord’s church
present. What if there are no Christians in that area?
As long as one carries the gospel with him, he has
the opportunity to convert new family members into
the body of Christ (Romans 1:16). “But when the
fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to
redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4, 5).
To those who are not a member of the
Lord’s church, why not become a part of this
Christ’s “brotherhood?” To those who are members
of the Lord’s church, may you strive to let the world
see, “HOW MANY BROTHERS YOU HAVE.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sr. Youth & Parents
TNT is this TUESDAY,
FEB. 18 from 6:00-8:30
p.m. at Alex Black-
welder’s white house (in
between the storage units
and Grace Baptist church in the Skyline
community). We will spend time in Bible study and
fun to follow. Kids and parents welcome!!
**Eat before you come!**
**Snacks and drinks will be provided.**
** Bring your Bible!!!!!!!**
Family First Fellowship
The next Family First
Fellowship will be held this
Sunday, Feb. 23 in the
multipurpose room from 8:15-
8:45 a.m. before worship
services. Everyone is invited to
come and enjoy a brief period of fellowship with the
church family! Donuts and biscuits/sausage will be
served. This is a great opportunity to get to know
your church family better!
Snacks/Drinks for CYC
Around 60 of our
youth and adults
will be travelling
to Pigeon Forge,
TN February 27-
March 1 for Chal-
lenge Youth Conference. We need can drinks, bottled
water & individually wrapped snacks. Please put
these on the library table by Wed., Feb. 26. Thanks!
Ladies’ Day
Our ladies’ day at
East Main is
scheduled for Sat-
urday, Apr. 25 with
Callie Rasberry
speaking on “The
Seasons of Life.”
We would love for
all the ladies, young and old, to help if possible. The
various committee sign-up sheets are posted on the
bulletin board across from the library. Please sign if
you can help in any way.
John Duke stationed in Gulfport, MS
Caleb Williams stationed in Iraq
Rob Cross & family stationed in South Korea
March 2020
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Maggie &
Norman Simineau
Joshua 1-5
2
Joshua 6-8
3
Chase Stanford
Joshua 9-13
4
Joshua 14-16
5
Star Ray
Chevela
Underwood
Sr. Adult
fellowship @ 6
pm
Joshua 17-21
6
Christine Wilson
Joshua 22-24
7
Pete Barber
Judges 1-2
8
Visitation Team #2
Judges 3-5
9
Patsy Nichols
Judges 6-8
10
Judges 9-12
11
Judges 13-16
12
Scarlett Smith
Ladies’ fellowship
@ 6 pm in mp
room
Judges 17-19
13
Judges 20-21
14
Kinsley Floyd
Perry Hand
Madi Harris
Ruth 1-4
15
JY/ES Devo.
Nursing Home
Singing
Area Youth
Meeting @ Fulton
1 Samuel 1-3
16
Jennie Cox
1 Samuel 4-8
17
Marlon Geno
1 Samuel 9-12
18
1 Samuel 13-15
19
1 Samuel 16-17
20
Alex
Blackwelder
Jenna Davis
1 Samuel 18-19
21
Alicia Smith
Give Away Day
1 Samuel 20-23
22
Hugh & Rachel
Scribner
Visitation Team #4
1 Samuel 24-26
23
1 Samuel 27-31
24
Charles Barber
2 Samuel 1-4
25
2 Samuel 5-7
26
David Bates
2 Samuel 8-10
27
2 Samuel 11-12
28
Erin Moore
Crafton Laney
Mark & Mikki
Gilliland
2 Samuel 13-14
29
Kristie Webb
Family First
Fellowship
Youth Led Service
2 Samuel 15-18
30
2 Samuel 19-20
31
2 Samuel 21-24

3. Daily Bible Reading
February 26............................... Deuteronomy 21-26
February 27............................... Deuteronomy 27-30
February 28............................... Deuteronomy 31-34
February 29............................................. “Catch-up”
March 1.................................................... Joshua 1-5
March 2.................................................... Joshua 6-8
March 3.................................................. Joshua 9-13
Birthdays &
Anniversaries
Birthdays: Carrie Hitt (Feb. 27), Charlie Ruth
Hallmark (Feb. 28), Micah Laney (Feb. 28),
Aaron Willis (Feb. 28), Chase Stanford (Mar.
3). Anniversaries: Maggie & Norman Simineau
(Mar. 1).
Our Sick
Those sick at home Sunday were Annie Martin,
Judy Bates, Chevela Underwood, Brenda Beckner,
Hannon Ray & Kannon Smith. Katie Bates’
grandmother, Margaret Miller, is in room 6643 at
NMMC. Dale Dulaney’s mother-in-law, Rachel
Goza, has been put on hospice care. Jennie Cox
continues therapy at the Tupelo Nursing & Rehab
Facility, Room A-9.
On-Going Illnesses
Mary Lou Walden, Pete Barber, Jean Mounce,
Steve Kelly, Frankie Estes, Donny Dulaney, Adam
McCurley, Mary Jordan, James Goddard, Bill Goff,
Leroy Brown, Jadon Parish, Jerry Smith, Mitch
Maclean, Mary Starz, Sheba Tuggers, Homer
Smith, Jill Rice, Ann Letteri, Shirley Roberts, Brad
Dillard, Merlene Johnson
Nursing Homes
Evelyn Willis, Nancy Haywood, Randy
Attaway, Shirley McCarthy, Mary Southern, Veona
Harris
--article continued from page 1—
is needed to maintain the peaceable life with all. We
realize that it is not possible, biblically speaking, to
cooperate with some people because of their actions.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).
John said that if we bid any false teacher “Godspeed”
that we in turn become a “partaker of his evil deeds” (2
John 11).
May God help us to be cooperative and not
contentious. After all, when we choose to be
contentious, we only end up hurting ourselves, and we
fail to follow God’s plan for man (Psalm 119:105;
Romans 12:1, 2). Cooperation is in fact allowing
brotherly love to continue (Hebrews 13:1).
Sympathy
Our sympathy is extended to Hannon Ray in the
loss of his brother, Jimmy, on Feb. 19 in his sleep.
Funeral services were held Friday in Baldwyn.
Also, our condolences to Gail Geno in the loss of
her brother, Bill Rutland, Feb. 23. Visitation will be
held on Feb. 25 from 5-7 p.m. at Holland Harris and
funeral services will be held on Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. also
at Holland Harris in Tupelo.
Thank You Note
Thanks so much to everyone for all the calls, cards,
visits and food. In Christian love,
Pete Barber
Snacks/Drinks for CYC
Around 60 of our youth and adults will be
travelling to Pigeon Forge, TN February 27-March 1
for CYC. We need can drinks, bottled water &
individually wrapped snacks. Please put these on the
library table by Wed., Feb. 26. Thanks!
Outreach Item for March
Lotion
We would like to wish a
Happy 90th Birthday
to Charlie Ruth
Hallmark!
Hope it’s the best one yet!

4. Men to Serve Sunday, March 1, 2020 a.m.
Announcements..................................... Wade Bryan
Bible Reading......................................Jake Kennedy
Opening Prayer ..............................Dennis Hallmark
Lord’s Supper
Bobby Joe Lindley & Jeff Mansel
Serve Congregation, East Side:
Larry Bates, Chet Wilson, Kent Nichols
Serve Congregation, West Side:
Terry Kingsley, Jimmy Spearman, Chase Stanford
Lead Singing....................................Eddie Simmons
Closing Prayer........................................... Joe Minor
Ushers .................Robert Parker & Clinton Kingsley
Please meet in the library by 8:45 a.m.
Sunday Afternoon
Opening Prayer ....................................... Perry Hand
Closing Prayer...................................... Jalon Mansel
Lead Singing..................................Jonathan Nichols
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Prayer......................................................Mike Ratiff
Lead Singing........................................ Greg Hughes
Contact Michael Wilson (891-0891) if unable to serve.
The elders kindly request that men leading in public
worship wear the best dress clothes they have.
Greeters .....................................Larry & Judy Bates
................................ Mike & Renee Childers
Prepare Lord’s Supper—March.......................Roger
& Lynn Sanderson
Nursery (1st
worship)....... Sherry Kingsley/Debbie Vines
(2nd
worship)................................ Tracy & Logan Lyle
Pantry..............................................................Cereal
Attendance & Contribution
Mid-Week, 2-19-20..............................................155
Sunday 1st
Worship, 2-23-20 ...............................197
Sunday Bible Class ..............................................195
Sunday 2nd
Worship.............................................184
Contribution (budget $7,900)..........................$8,588
Mark Your Calendars!!!
Ladies’ Day – April 25th
Personal Evangelism Workshop – May 29th-30th
Vacation Bible School – June 14th-17th
Maywood Christian Camp – July 12th-18th
Outward Camp – July 31st-August 1st
Gospel Meeting – September 13th-16th
Fall Family Retreat – November 13th-14th